College Baseball World Series Betting Guide

Best College World Series Betting Sites For 2024

Rank	Site	Bonus	Rating	USA	Visit/Review
1		$500	4.8/5		Visit Site Review
2		$1,000	4.6/5		Visit Site Review
3		$500	4.1/5		Visit Site Review

Is It Legal To Bet On The College World Series?

Yes. Domestic and offshore sports betting sites are able to legally serve College World Series gamblers in the United States. Offshore sportsbook sites are legal in the United States as long as they are licensed and regulated.

Many Americans already use licensed offshore sportsbooks since they have been in operation for much longer than many US-based sources and domestic online sports betting sites are currently still unavailable in many states.

Each one of the college betting sites listed in this guide has been vetted for proper licensing and regulation by our team of online betting experts.

When Is The College World Series?

The NCAA College World Series is hosted each year throughout the month of June. It takes place towards the end of the regular season for Division I teams. It is always held in Omaha. Nebraska.

In 2022, the CWS will kick off on June 16. The championship series is set to end by June 27.

How Is The CWS Structured?

The current College Baseball Regionals format was introduced in 2003 and consists of 64 teams divided into 16 separate 4-team Regional brackets based on the College Baseball Rankings.

The 4 teams play in a double-elimination tournament. From the original field of 64, 16 teams move on to the Super Regionals. The Super Regionals see eight best-of-3 series play out. Teams from different regions play each other during the Super Regionals. From the Supers, the "Omaha 8" advance to the final stage of the tournament.

The remaining 8 teams that qualify for the CWS are split up into 2 brackets. Each bracket has 4 teams. Each of the 4 teams plays a double-elimination format. A Winner’s Bracket is born out of this and consists of both winners of the bracket’s first matches.

Once a team suffers their first loss, it becomes do-or-die as each game is a potential elimination game. The eventual Bracket 1 and 2 winners move on to the CWS Finals, which is a best-of-3 series. At this point, no previous wins or losses matter. The first team to secure 2 wins is the National Champion.

This extended playoff format increases your odds of winning some bets throughout the duration of the NCAA baseball postseason. With so many games and series, the high number of wagers sets up a lucrative betting environment. College sports pull in a large number of wagers each year and it is easy to see why given their scheduling.

Types Of College World Series Bets

There are several different wagering types available for those looking to bet on the College World Series. With the variance in the types of wagers available, your CWS betting odds increase.

The most common wagering types include run lines, money lines, total runs, and props. The run line is a point spread-style wager where you are given a favorite team to win by ‘x’ amount of runs.

You can wager on the favorite or you can wager on the underdog. For example, if you pick Florida to beat Arkansas by at least 2 runs, they have to do so in order for the bet to win. They could still win the game, but if it is only by 1 run then the bet fails.

The money line is betting on a team to win outright.  Money line wagers do not account for the point spread, only which team comes out victorious.

Total run wagers involve betting on whether the total number of runs will be higher or lower than a predetermined amount. Future bets are another option, which in this case would be placing a wager on a team to win the CWS at the beginning of a season.

Props make up a large part of the betting market because there are so many wagers to place. An example of a baseball prop would be betting on whether a team hits a certain number of home runs in a game.

Other props revolve around things like strikes, steals, bunts, etc. You could also place a parlay wager, which is a combination of any of the betting types mentioned above. Odds vary based on the type of bet you want to place.

How Does Live Betting Work?

One of the more enticing wagering types is live betting. This is placing wagers during the course of the game as opposed to before it begins.

Live College Baseball betting lines are interesting because the odds can change in real-time, meaning the opportunity for different payout structures is present.

You can place live wagers on any CWS game, just be sure to check and see if there are any different rules for live baseball betting.

The biggest thing to note in live betting is changes to the CWS odds. For example, if you have a betting line like:

Florida v. Texas Tech

Florida -1 ½ (-110), Texas Tech +1 ½ (-110)

Those are the odds posted before the game begins. Once the game starts, imagine Texas Tech goes up 4 runs on Florida by the top of the 5^th inning. The sportsbooks may change the College World Series odds to something like:

Texas Tech +5 ½ (+120)

Sportsbooks realize Texas Tech has moved into the favorite position in the game despite being originally slated as the underdogs. For bettors looking to make live wagers, taking Texas Tech to win at this point would not be as favorable with the original lines, but the sportsbooks realize their College World Series odds have increased, and they'll change their lines accordingly.

The most common live betting changes are with the point spread odds. Alternative point spreads will likely surface. There may be a few live props, but these are not as common. The main things to look out for are changes to the point spread, money line, and total odds and payouts.

Understanding College World Series Betting Lines

When looking at any type of sports betting line, it can be a little confusing at first. However, it isn’t that complicated once broken down. There are 2 main things you have to look out for in a betting line—the presence of a positive (+) or (-) negative sign and any numbers associated with them.

A negative sign indicates the sportsbooks’ favorite. A positive sign represents the underdog. The numbers have to do with the college baseball betting odds and payouts.

If you see a -220, that means you have to wager $220 to win $100. If you see a +180 valuation, a $100 wager gets you a $180 payout. An example of a CWS betting would look something like:

Game 1 – Oregon State v. North Carolina

Oregon State -1 ½ (-250), UNC +1 ½ (+200) / Oregon State -280, UNC +230/ Total: 10 (Over -115, Under -110)

From this betting line, you can see the point spread (Oregon State favored to win by at least 1 ½ runs. You can see the money line bet (Oregon State favored to win outright).

You can also see the total bet (oddsmakers project at least 10 combined runs, with the favorite pick being that the teams will score more than 10 runs). You also see the positive/negative signs and the corresponding numbers that we discussed, which indicate payouts.

An example of a prop bet would be something like:

Will Oregon State score 3 runs before the 7^th inning stretch?

Yes -150, No +300

Props can be about anything in the game or even the players' individual performances. They make betting exciting by mixing things up. They can also be quite lucrative depending on the specificity of the wager.

Second Saturday Scenarios In Omaha

There are several outcomes that could force an additional day of play in the NCAA baseball tournament. For bettors, this means even more betting opportunities. For fans, it is an exciting continuation of play. We’ve provided an explanation of the scenarios below:

• No Games – In this scenario, 2 undefeated teams coast through the Winner’s Bracket.
• One Game – Either Bracket 1 or 2 has a team from the Elimination Bracket win out. This makes a situation where both teams have one loss. This forces a final game to decide double elimination.
• Two Games – Both Brackets (1 and 2) have the Elimination Bracket teams win Friday. This forces 2 separate win-or-go-home games the following Saturday.

CWS Betting FAQs

When Did The CWS Begin?

The College World Series began in 1947. The original tournament took place in Kalamazoo, Michigan. California won the inaugural championship after defeating Yale. The CWS moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1949, but then found its final home in Omaha and has remained there ever since.

Which Teams Have Had The Most Appearances In The College World Series?

Texas has had the most appearances in the NCAA College World Series Bracket with 37. The subsequent teams are Miami (25), Florida State (23), Arizona State (22),  Southern California (21) and Oklahoma State (20).

Which Schools Have The Most CWS Championships?

Southern California has the most College World Series wins with 12. Texas and LSU each have 6. Arizona State has claimed 5 championships. Arizona, Miami, and Cal State Fullerton each have 4 titles. Minnesota and Oregon State have both won 3 titles.

Which Conferences Have The Most College World Series Championships?

The Pac-12 is the most successful conference in the NCAA with 18 titles, thanks mostly to the University of Southern California.